Top 40 Business Tips #18: Be Ready for the Bad Times

We’ve all been through a tough time financially, but some of the most successful businesses in the world use economic downturns as a chance to start growing. They are the hunters who use the opportunity to grow market share as their competitors cut back on advertising and slash budgets that have direct impacts on their customers.

Andrew Griffiths, author of the book “Bulletproof Your Business Now” says avoiding the temptation to panic is the first thing to remember when the going gets tough. Often that panic comes from companies that have no visibility of the key metrics driving their business. Do you really understand how much it costs to run your business? If you took a 15 percent cut in sales, what impact would it really have on your bottom line?

Brian Walker agrees that information is key. He helped many retail businesses cope with the global economic downturn and says it’s important to ensure that your business is fit enough to cope with a crisis. That means you need to ensure that there’s no fat in the fundamental aspects of your business.

Greg Joffe from the Nous Group says businesses that aren’t fit enough to handle a downturn are the ones that panic by cutting costs in a way that will only make matters worse — for example, reducing the standard of service resulting in increased customer churn.

So, it’s a simple tip — make sure your business is fit, then you can cope with the highs and lows.

A new law will enable copyright owners to approach the Federal Court to request an injunction against an overseas website if its primary purpose is the infringement of copyright. ISPs will then be required to block those sites. Will it work?

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ABOUT PHIL

Phil Dobbie is a broadcaster and writer, with a wealth of business experience behind him too. He was a partner in an ad agency, he's been the marketing head at various technology companies and ran the Australian operation of the British Tourist Authority.

But his real love is the creation of content - as a journalist for ZDNet and others. He likes to spend time behind the microphone, creating radio shows and podcasts - he's done thousands of them, for CBS, National Australia Bank, BBC and CommsDay.

He's available to present radio shows and produce podcasts. Or any other exciting projects that come along.